Customer Reviews

Grim Tuesday (Keys to the Kingdom, Book 2)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I truly enjoyed both Mister Monday and Grim Tuesday and I'm looking forward to Drowned Wednesday. I'm an avid reader and a mom. This series may have been recommended for young children but I borrowed the books from my 15 year old son. He loved them and so did I. Garth Nix is the first author my son ever chose to read for fun. I think this is due to Mr. Nix vivid descriptions of the surreal, supernatural and odd environments, characters and situations. His stories are well thought out and he keeps you on the edge of your seat. In this series he's chosen a hero in an intelligent young boy who happens to be hindered by asthma. In the beginning he believes himself to be a loser, but eventually he becomes our modest hero. I think Arthur's a character that all teenagers can relate to. Even the most athletic and popular teenager can feel isolated by their own insecurities. I also appreciate the message behind the strong, loving family that treats Arthur no differently even though he's adopted. They aren't the focus of the story but they are the backbone of Arthur's strength. This is a great series for drawing kids away from the TV and video games and into the wealth of their own imagination. And its not a bad escape for parents still in touch with their inner child.

When I read the first book of the series, I wasn't quite sure how Garth Nix would pull off the rest of the series while still maintaining to create a new plot for each and every one of them. While I was impressed at what he managed to accomplish with his sequel, I still thought it lacked a bit. What Nix needs to do more is think outside of a set series, which he's done so brilliantly in the past. This is just a wild guess, but at the end of each book, I'm guessing there will be the same outcome.

If you're going to read this book, I strongly recommend that you make sure that you've read "Mister Monday" first. That way you see, I don't have to explain all about the Architect and the Will, and the seven hidden fragments and the treacherous trustees and all that. Just call me lazy if you like.

Our young and most unlikely hero has barely returned from Mister Monday's domain, when the telephone hotline starts ringing again. Arthur quickly learns that Grim Tuesday has found a convenient loophole in the Trustee agreement, and that all Mister Monday's substantial debts have been passed on to him as the new Master of the Lower House. Grim T. means to collect one way or the other, and as the world's economy gets turned on its end, Arthur realizes that he has no choice but to go back and sort it all out, and of course get the second key and some added responsibility that he can well do without.

Greedy Grim Tuesday runs a huge "nothing" mine using slave labor, and makes all the gadgets and widgets and doodads needed by the Days and anybody with the right currency. Lots of new and deadly creatures await Arthur, some of whom are allergic to salt and some to silver, but all have the common goal of inflicting upon him as much pain as possible. With the help of his friend Leaf (from book one) he finally finds the entrance to Tuesday's mineshafts, and begins his new quest, going deep, deep undercover as one of Tuesday's slaves.

Fortunately for him, he gets a little help from Suzy Turquoise Blue, Japeth the walking Thesaurus, Captain Shelvocke the sea-faring brother of the Pied Piper, and to a lesser extent a hairy, materialistic bit of fluff formally known as "eyebrow". Soon he's sailing off into very strange waters to retrieve the second fragment of the Will, with a heavy heart, a broken leg and almost more problems than he can bear.

Exciting and imaginative, although sometimes a tad long on description, Nix wraps this one up rather quickly at the end, and gives a tantalizing glimpse into Wednesday's woes. A must-read if you've completed your Monday reading.

Amanda Richards, July 1, 2006

Things go from bad to worse for Arthur Penhaligon in the second book of this series, "Grim Tuesday." Garth Nix's second Keys to the Kingdom book is a bit more plodding and hard to decipher than the first, but still has his deliciously dark sense of humor and knack for ghastly beasties.

It's less than a day after the near-catastrophic events of "Mister Monday." And poor Arthur thought he was going to go back to a normal life. But he's suddenly called and told that Grim Tuesday has somehow called in debts of Mister Monday's -- including Arthur's entire world, among others. Houses are being mysteriously sold, creatures are swarming through his city, and the stock market is going wonky. So Arthur has to get back to the House and somehow get everything right again.

He narrowly escapes being attacked by one of Tuesday's minions, and ends up being dumped in the Far Reaches. There, he becomes an indentured servant to Tuesday, in an enormous Pit that mines Nothing, and is undermining the very foundations of the House. With the help of his friend Suzy Blue and a nautical captain (and Tuesday's discarded soot-eating eyebrow), he must somehow get the second key and second part of the Will -- or be destroyed by Tuesday.

Nix widens the scope of the world he introduced in "Mister Monday." Now that we're acquainted with concepts like the House, the Will, and the different Days, he goes full-speed into the storyline. There are plenty of interesting hints about the future -- especially a communique from Lady Wednesday. What will Nix do next? Only time will tell.

This book is a little off-kilter -- the bureaucratic terms can make your head spin sometimes. What's more, Nix spends too much time focusing on zipping up with the Ascending Wings and clinging to the top. However, his descriptions of the mine are excellent, full of despair and misery. You can almost smell the soot and grime. Not to mention the hideous Nithlings, as creepy and sinister as anything out of Nix's classic dark fantasy "Sabriel."

Grim Tuesday is an interesting villain in himself -- the ultimate plagiarizer, a guy who can't actually make things himself. So he copies other people's art and machines, and sells them. Arthur is still trying to fight against his destiny (just accept it, kid), and such memorable characters as Japheth the Thesaurus and the quirky Suzy appear to back him up.

While it drags at times, "Grim Tuesday" is still an intriguing, imaginative read with plenty of darkness and humor. It's not as good as "Mr. Monday," but it is a solid continuation and ends with hints for the third book.

The Far Reaches: A smog-full Place which is almost completly filled by a pit. Grim Tuesdays pit. A pit that is used to mine nothing, a substance which everything is made of. Arthur is still recovering from monday, but he is already being attacked by Grim Tuesday. As Arthurs life and family are constantly attacked, Arthur must find his way into the house and defeat Grim Tuesday. With a good plot and amazing characters, though with a few downpoints, Garth Nix makes another amazing book, though it is a notch down from Monday.

This is one of the best books that I have EVER read! It was even better than "Mister Monday". Arthur, master of the Lower House, finds himself in even more trouble than before. The Morrow Days just won't leave him alone! Is a normal life just too much to ask? Well, it looks that way...He just got back and already he is being dragged into the magical world of the House. A must read book for ALL ages!!!

This is the second book in the Keys To The Kingdom series. Its 10am Tuesday morning and Arthur Penhaligon has learned that if he doesnt make his way back into The House by noon then his parents will be bankrupted and their home turned into a shopping mall. Grim Wednesday has found a loophole in the Will and is going to repossess all Arthur owns including The First Key.

The only way Arthur can stop this is the claim the Key to Tuesday as Rightful Heir and to do this he will have to brave the horrors of the Grims realm. These will take him in the depths of the pit and into the sun in the far reaches as Arthur meets some old friends and makes new ones in his quest to help those he loves.

These are dark fantasies written for younger readers that can and should be read by anyone who enjoys an original fantasy world quite unlike those in novels written deliberately for older readers. This is a series well worth picking up and Im looking forward to book three, DROWNED WEDNESDAY.

Things go from bad to worse for Arthur Penhaligon in the second book of this series, "Grim Tuesday." Garth Nix's second Keys to the Kingdom book is a bit more plodding and hard to decipher than the first, but still has his deliciously dark sense of humor and knack for ghastly beasties.

It's less than a day after the near-catastrophic events of "Mister Monday." And poor Arthur thought he was going to go back to a normal life. But he's suddenly called and told that Grim Tuesday has somehow called in debts of Mister Monday's -- including Arthur's entire world, among others. Houses are being mysteriously sold, creatures are swarming through his city, and the stock market is going wonky. So Arthur has to get back to the House and somehow get everything right again.

He narrowly escapes being attacked by one of Tuesday's minions, and ends up being dumped in the Far Reaches. There, he becomes an indentured servant to Tuesday, in an enormous Pit that mines Nothing, and is undermining the very foundations of the House. With the help of his friend Suzy Blue and a nautical captain (and Tuesday's discarded soot-eating eyebrow), he must somehow get the second key and second part of the Will -- or be destroyed by Tuesday.

Nix widens the scope of the world he introduced in "Mister Monday." Now that we're acquainted with concepts like the House, the Will, and the different Days, he goes full-speed into the storyline. There are plenty of interesting hints about the future -- especially a communique from Lady Wednesday. What will Nix do next? Only time will tell.

This book is a little off-kilter -- the bureaucratic terms can make your head spin sometimes. What's more, Nix spends too much time focusing on zipping up with the Ascending Wings and clinging to the top. However, his descriptions of the mine are excellent, full of despair and misery. You can almost smell the soot and grime. Not to mention the hideous Nithlings, as creepy and sinister as anything out of Nix's classic dark fantasy "Sabriel."

Grim Tuesday is an interesting villain in himself -- the ultimate plagiarizer, a guy who can't actually make things himself. So he copies other people's art and machines, and sells them. Arthur is still trying to fight against his destiny (just accept it, kid), and such memorable characters as Japheth the Thesaurus and the quirky Suzy appear to back him up.

While it drags at times, "Grim Tuesday" is still an intriguing, imaginative read with plenty of darkness and humor. It's not as good as "Mr. Monday," but it is a solid continuation and ends with hints for the third book.

Grim Tuesday was a good read for me. In the beginning, it starts off on Earth, and Grim's Grotesques are affecting the world around Arthur. Houses were sold, including Arthur's own home. His family was in financial trouble, as well.

Eventually, it becomes darker with Arthur being in the pit, and then when he begins on a journey on a ship that looks like a turtle, his journey isn't so dark. I found the second half of the book was a better read, more interesting. I like the fact there wasn't really a drawn out fighting scene between Grim and Arthur, but more of a competition of creativity. It is quite different, and I wasn't expecting it.

I wanted to add that I was glad to see a difference in personality with the second part of the Will from the first part of the Will. I also like the difference in Grim's Tuesday Noon, Dawn, and Dusk from Mister Monday's Noon, Dawn, and Dusk. All the new characters made the book worth reading, more interesting.

Also, I want to add that I completely enjoyed Suzie. I felt she kind of stole the show with her quick wit and her stubornness. I even laughed at a few things she said and did.

I am very glad to have read this book. I felt like it was a wonderful look into Garth Nix's imagination, and I look forward to reading Drowned Wednesday.

Thanks.

This is the second book in Garth Nix's engaging fantasy series Keys to the Kingdom, although it is billed as children's literature, it contains many sophistocated allusions that most kids probably wouldn't get (and some adults might not get either), and is extremely well written and highly recommended for anybody who likes fantasy, be warned however that it is not typical fantasy, it is sometimes very dark (this book is particularly dark and dreary).

After Arthur defeated Mister Monday and cured the Sleepy Plague which threatened to ravage his town and possibly his whole world, he thought he'd get 6 years off to grow up and relax before having to deal with the fantastical realm of the House again, unfortunately the greedy and corrupt Trustee of the Architect, Grim Tuesday has other ideas, he has sent two of his twisted warped Grotestques to Arthur's world where they have proceeded to commence the ruining of Arthur's family's finances and the finances of a good portion of the rest of the world, in order to stop them, Arthur must find a way back into the House, and once there survive Grim Tuesday's horrible Pit, which he has dug in his greed to mine Nothing, which can be made into everything. Along the way he teams up with various characters, new and old, including the irrepressible and irreverent Suzy Blue, and one of Grim Tuesday's many indentured Denizens, a former Theasureus named Japeth, who has a bad habit of talking, well like a theasureus which provides a certain amount of comic relief in the despair of the Pit. He also must convince the sullen stubborn Second Part of the Will to co-operate with him and beat Grim Tuesday in a contest of artistry in order to obtain the Second Key to the Kingdom of Reality and, most importantly as far as Arthur is concerned, save his family and his world from a new Great Depression and get back home.

All and all this is a great book, although not quite as interesting as the first one, perhaps because the first one had more mystery in it, in this one Arthur knows what is going on.